“My dog thought I was a singer… because dogs don’t understand standup comedy.”
-Margaret Cho [20:40]
[Housekeeping update: The demand for my $5K Holiday Megabox exceeded expectations, so I’m opening up a few more slots. First come, first served, and deadline is 11:59pm PT today, November 11, 2014. Click here for more details.]
Margaret Cho is a polymath.
She is an internationally acclaimed comic, actress, author, fashion designer and singer-songwriter. Perhaps you’ve seen her on the big screen, or in TV series such as Sex and the City and 30 Rock.
But well before she was on Dancing with the Stars (yes, she’s done that, too), she decided on her comedy career… at the tender age of eight. The stage has been her constant companion ever since.
In this episode we delve into her comic influences and approaches, bisexuality, slow-carb adventures, and much more. Please indulge me as we dig deep into the lesser-known tricks of the Slow-Carb Diet. Margaret had a lot of detailed questions (she’s followed it for ~3 months), and the answers might help accelerate your own fat loss. (If you want more, here are several case studies — with pics — who’ve lost 100+ pounds.)
Enjoy!
You can find the transcript of this episode here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What’s your favorite curse word — or phrase — and why? Please click here to let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Enjoy!
Who should I interview next? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments.
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Selected Links from the Episode
- Explore Margaret Cho’s Writing:
I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight | I’m The One That I Want
- Overeaters Anonymous and HOW for those struggling with food cravings
- How to Be a Movie Star by William J. Mann
- Connect with Margaret Cho: Website | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
Show Notes
- What compels Margaret to perform stand-up comedy [3:30]
- The early years of Margaret’s comedy career [4:50]
- On the appeal of Joan Rivers and her immense gratitude [8:50]
- Fearlessness and Margaret’s most fearful on-stage moments [11:30]
- How to deal with hecklers [15:45]
- Margaret’s inspirations [19:30]
- Revealing intimate traits on stage and thoughts on female bisexuality [23:00]
- The challenges of the isolated comedian lifestyle, and the potential for drug addiction [30:00]
- Personality traits for those who gravitate towards stimulants vs. depressants [33:00]
- The catalyzing moment when Margaret decided her prescription pill addiction needed to be fought [34:45]
- Margaret Cho’s process for creating new material [40:30]
- Why to hone an act (or product) internationally before bringing it to the USA – Note: Nike does this. [42:30]
- “Successful” — who comes to mind? Does Margaret self-identify as successful? [48:00]
- Clarifications on the Slow-Carb Diet and cheat day [50:30]
- Hunger and human resilience [58:30]
- Her death-row meal and why it’s changed since starting the SCD [1:10:30]
- Margaret’s favorite curse word [1:11:45]
- Stand-up pre-game rituals [1:13:45]
- On Hollywood success and the types who aren’t tortured by it [1:16:10]
- What attributes Dave Grohl exhibits, and why drummers tend to be positive people [1:17:30]
People Mentioned
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Another great Episode Tim! How do you go about approaching guests and arranging interviews with your already busy schedule. How many people are currently on your team?
Sorry Tim, love almost everything you do but this episode wasn’t mind boggling like the others.
Please interview some really interesting people like your friend Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Tony Hsieh or even Marc Benioff if you can.
Who’s Ian Robinson?
A sound engineer who helps with the audio, show note time stamps, etc.!
Great interview Tim, comedians do seem to struggle with the highs and low more then most, a listening to marc Marron wtf podcast (which is where I discovered you btw) -interview 100’S of comedians, actors and musicians metal illness and addiction seems to be a common crux, it great that you incorage your guests to talk about their issues in such an open way.
(and yes of corse you apprence of his podcast was a notable exception)
Yours ross #timtimtalktalk
Bollocks! it doesn’t get more British than this. Just like the Sex Pistols album in the 80’s “Never mind the Bollocks here is the Sex Pistols”. I live in Australia now the Aussies love this. “That’s Bollocks” Meaning that is not technically factual. “Hey Bollocks” Meaning Hello you, who I have little respect for. “Oh bollocks” Meaning Shit that was a mistake. So far lost 4 KG on the Slow Carb Diet.
Your “I’m the one that I want” link is pointing at the other book.
Best curse word – KAK, pronounced Cuck or Kuk.
It is multi purpose and can be used in the following instances – this tastes kak! Or at the gym about to dead lift some kak heavy load. Your mate just broke up with his bird – bro that is super kak how about a glass of vino?
My favorite curse is BIFi pronounced “Biffy”= Brute Force and Fucking Ignorance. I’m in the army so whenever there is something that needs some pounding to fix this is my word.
Re: Favorite curse word & why – That’s tough because “fuck” and “shit” are so versatile – and I combine them to make new words – fucktardery, relationshit, shituation – but I’m going to go with “fuck” because it just emphasizes the situation with a bigger exclamation point: fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!!! <3 🙂 I answered before listening to the podcast – going to do that while I run – Thanks, Tim – You rock!
Tim, even though it may be difficult, I think there is a very thin line that you can be on so that you’d satisfy your writing needs and wants (like writing books) and not being anti-social. The line exists, but it’s not easy to find!
Adam Grant talks about being able to successfully be an introvert and extrovert at the same time. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s possible. I think you know him 😉
Cristi Vlad
Favorite curse word is just a simple “fuck” because it’s so expressive…it has more meanings than any other single word in the English language so I find it’s quite versatile. And it just makes me feel better after saying it which has something to do with the mix of a long fricative followed by a door slamming plosive.
I used to drop F-bombs so much I got the nick-name “fuck-man” and then my friends loved to remind everyone it wasn’t because of what you might think haha.
Hi Tim
My favorite curse phrase is “Thunder Cunt” since it conveys so much power. You are such a cunt that your are a thunder cunt. Also, I have never been able to use it with a straight face.
Please try to interview Pete from Mr. Money Mustache, http://www.mrmoneymustache.com. He is the antithesis of Ramit Sethi. Pete retired at 30 years old with a $600,000 nest egg from working as a software engineer. He lives a frugal life in Longmont Colorado and started his website to teach people how to retire early through frugal living. Now I believe he has 6 million unique page visits per month.
Thanks, Dan. I’ll check him out.
Ditto! Mr. Money Mustache is a total badass and one of the few people (including you) I follow religiously online.
Thank you for another great interview. I really like how you have been bringing us people from different genres. It is very interesting to see the similarities in success and achievement, and it is even more interesting in the different possibilities and pathways that there are to take to get there.
First a correction to the show notes then a question, and a suggestion
The minutes are off on the show notes. For example. Margaret starts talking about her early comedy career around the 8:20 range. The five minute intro must have not been accounted for in the interview.
Who or where would you recommend a novice to go to for learning stand up for the first time. Whether it be a DVD to learn from or a Live Coach/experience.
Also I think many others would agree that an 8 part Joe Rogan Interview Series would be awesome to try out. Release one a month in between other interviews. One to two longs days of work can be used to help you fill the gap should you have trouble thinking up of new people to interview. I’m gonna give that underwear a try. Or is that too much information?
Interview Kyle Bass on money management, risk management, how do you make a bet and then hedge it, how to invest in this climate (where bond returns are next to zero). In short: the mental models of a hedge fund manager.
My favorite curse word by far is Fuck but I don’t know why I’ve said it as far back as I can remember My mom confirms she has told me she is offended & yet at age 48 I still let it fly w/o realizing I’ve said it sorry mom I’ve gotten more disciplined obviously as I age however I still
Love thst word Thanks for your GREAT interviews!! Don’t know how you do it…..PKK
Interview Jeff Olson. He just spoke at the United Nations on the international day of happiness and his new company did $400 million in 30 months.
Everything & everyone benefits from a well-placed “fuck.” Especially since most of us are barraged by poor fucks and unnecessary fucks.
A well-placed “fuck” does wonders for the soul.
My favorite curse word(s) is “Jesus H. Christ”. Does anyone know what the H. stands for?
Great episode. Would love to hear you interview Dave Grohl.
Tim, the link for “I’m the One that I Want” is wrong, that’s going to “I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight”. (Both links go to the same book.)
Thanks for the heads up! I’ll get it fixed now…
Thanks Tim — any chance you could also have podcasts transcribed? Inexpensive process when outsourced, and a great boon to your time-starved followers. Reading seems to be about five times faster than listening — and things like hyperlinks to topics would make it even faster.
Cheers
Just so happens, my roommate and a buddy that runs The Weary Traveler (excellent dining in Madison, WI) just shared a fun game with me. You match a curse or derogatory term with a nautical term. “Douche Canoe” seems to have made it into the American lexicon already, but “shit jib” and “cunt anchor” are my personal favorites 🙂
Favorite swearing phrase: “mother puss buckets!!” because it helps keep me from swearing in front of my kids and reminds me of one of my fave movies (Ghostbusters).
Being Swedish, my reflexive and favourite expletive has to be “Jävlar!”.
Try it! [jaevlar]
Tim, question on diet:
I followed the slow-carb, specifically “losing the last mile”, and the standard version, but I acquired Hypervitaminosis A.
It was probably due to overusing Cod liver oil. (Not as recommended by the 4HB)
My doctor was the one who made the call that it was Hypervitaminosis. But the only treatments he has prescribed are “wait for it to eliminate” and “Vitamin E”, neither of which has worked. And he knows no other treatments, other than surgery.
I’ve had this recurringly for 1 whole year, and it’s horrible. (Just look up “Increased intracranial pressure.)
Do you have any ideas or leads on how to get rid of Hypervitaminosis A?
You’re extremely keen at biochemistry and thought you might have an idea.
Loved the podcast!
Other suggestions for guests: Hugh Jackman. Naval Ravikant. Nassim Taleb. Matt Mullenweg!!!!
Maybe someone in animation?
All men. Use your jävla imagination….
Vitamin A needs to be balanced with Vitamin D to protect against toxicity; it works both ways (A protects against excess D toxicity). Maybe up the D for awhile? And try liver-supportive herbs so your poor liver can detox it all.
The ideal ratio of A to D is supposedly 5:1, btw. Best wishes.
Tim- This one is too good to pass up…
Favorite Curse Phrase: “Suck a bag of dicks”. The reason seems appropriate for this episode. Louis CK, genius comedian, has permanently scarred my brain with hilarious images of what such an ambiguous proposal suggests. It also is just fun to say… Louis CK’s bit on the phrase can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT7xc_XqYO8
Who to interview next? Bode Miller. Your discussion with Joe De Sena touched on some unique qualities that alpine ski racers possess (grit, tolerance for discomfort, etc.) and Bode has some amazing traits that stand out from the ranks of ski racers that I can see being very interesting to explore for your listeners. He’s a guy who seems to truly think for himself and he defines success differently than most professional athletes. He’s also known for some innovative workout techniques and not giving a shit about what you or I think of him. Pretty inspiring character.
I’m definitely a “FUCK!” kind of a guy. SOOO versatile. But GodDammit works pretty well too. Thanks for all the great info Tim.
Sorry to hear about still having insomnia. Do you think adding dairy into your diet would improve sleep? May be worth a try. Guess everyone will have their own advice though.
What about turmeric, does that help? Bet jiu jitsu helps as well.
Microdose lithium is really interesting: http://www.pureencapsulations.com/education-research/newscaps/newscap-02-13-14
I like cunt. It feels good on the mouth, it’s easy to say, rarely heard in the States, and pack more of a punch than pussy.
Keep up the help brother. We all really dig what you do.
Awesome episode! Definitely interesting
Loved this!
As an Australian, we definitely like to use that slang within many sentences and contexts. As an aside, studying Mandarin at university in China a few years ago, a good Australian friend of mine used to love saying (in his most bogan/redneck accent) “不知 fucking 道” to a wonderful reception from the other expats and international students. It killed me because, as you say, you wouldn’t put it in the middle of a word.
My favorite curse— May you get what you deserve.
First of all,if they’ve done something horrible, then it reflects the energy back at them magnified. It advocates responsibility for their actions.
There’s always the possibility that the person that I’m angry with is acting bad for a justifiable reason that I am unaware of. Maybe the person who cut me off in traffic is distracted because she just got diagnosed with cancer. Then the curse becomes a gentler reflection on mitigating circumstances.
It really just says it all.
I have been very patient and waiting for transcripts to your show. You promised the transcripts. I guess your Four Hour Work Week system didn’t live it up to the systematization of transcribing.
I bought all of your books. I share your blog and books with many.
I made several requests for transcripts and you said you will. Why? I am deaf and the podcasts are useless unless there is a written version accompanying the podcasts. Show notes doesn’t suffice. That is so nonequivalent function.
Tim – I give up.
I am going to pay attention more to those podcasters, bloggers, and vloggers who care about their fans and do a damn good job with their content producing and insure that their delivery is available in different formats insure its material accessibility. Those are people that value me as a human being.
It is worst feeling in the world to be putting on sideline — marginalized.
Your karma sucks.
So long,Tim.
My favourite swear word is fuck. Always has been. It fits into lots of sentences & situations nicely.
Love your work. I’d love you to interview Amanda Palmer & Shirley Manson ( lead singer of Garbage). Two strong women kicking arse in the male dominated music industry.
Fuckn-a tweetie.
Loved this episode. Especially the #4HB Cheat Day redux.
I’ve done everything you suggest in that part for almost the last three years and went thru the exact same process Margaret is going through. I learned early to do a normal #SCD bfast after one of my first cheat days when I had fried matzo and then felt crap the entire day. So nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY since I started has begun with eggs, spinach, & black beans. Then I do the grapefruit juice + coffee before having the eggs Benedict & pancakes and brunch craziness. (I do try to have protein with every subsequent meal to limit carb cravings.)
I do have a milkshake, ice cream, and chocolate obsession and go thru exactly what you said abt ‘getting it all in’ on cheat day, however, I try to stop the cheating at 9 or 10pm to give my body more time to recover.
But yes, I do make myself a little ill every Sunday and it staves off cravings until around Thursday.
And I choose to make my cheat foods ‘worth it’ and not wasted on pure crap.
And for a radio guy working in Korea, all of that is saying something.
Before I sign off on this, my favorite swear word is the British way of saying “fucking cunt.”
Thanks Tim!
My favorite curse word: unbefuckinglievable.
The Four hour Workweek book was quite practical and interesting. But while reading, on page 134, bullet 6 there was a statement I found offensive ” Do not accept orders from common mail fraud countries such as Nigeria”.
I am a Nigerian aspiring to be an Entrepreneur. How do you want me or other Nigerians to feel? We place orders from countries overseas and they ship the goods to us? We also as a nation do business with other countries and International organizations despite prevalent of corruption in our system.
So I don’t think its fair to site us as examples as it gives a total wrong impression of my country to other readers worldwide.
I also suggest removal of that ‘phrase’ during your next revised edition.
Thank you.
I would and Romania to list too, for same reason. Sorry but profiling exists because it works.
Made up expletives are the best (especially when around young children or when driving with the windows down). Two of my favorites: Crunt and suckatang
I’m loving the shows! Keep up the good work!
Since you asked about the audio…
You sound better during the podcast than the intro IMHO, but both are useable. I might consider compressing and de-essing a little heavier and adding a few dB of transparent limiting at the end of the signal chain – not because it will sound better, but because most of us are listening in the car or in other situations where there’s a lot of background noise so it will help keep the avg volume up so we’re not missing stuff in the quieter sections or reaching for the volume as often. Also, the bumper music sounds like it got converted to a low quality mp3 at some point (have a listen to this music intro vs the music intro in Robbins pt1). Overall though, your podcast audio is way above the average, good work!
Guest Idea: Ari Emanuel – a talent agent that’s going into the angel investing game might be interesting (and how the two worlds mesh, or clash).
P.S. I appreciate the diversity of guests, for example, this episode!
Favorite curse word? Bollocks!
Old school, fun to say and you get to explain it to people after they hear it.
Tim,
Is there anyway you could get a Joe Rogan interview?
He has been on show twice.
Man I don’t think Fonzy had an ounce of cool. Cho has been working out a lot of issues. That penninsula has been the most faught over peace of realestate except maybe Vietnam (I doubt it) last centurary it is important that she works it out I hope all the decendants find recovery. My favorite curse words are “Leave my family out of this”
It would be great if you can have Rory Sutherland, the wiki man on the show, and please make it really, really long.
He covers a lot about marketing, human behavior and design on his talks and writing. He strikes me as someone who has a unique way of thinking and who appreciates food, travel and life, so if you can interview him about his “philosophy of life” and his views on success (including the appreciation vs achievement problem) it would be amazing. You can also talk about books (classics), writing and creativity.
Love this interview with him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap01i5xhPJw
His column at The Spectator:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/life/the-wiki-man/
Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into the podcasts, they are wonderful!
Favorite curse word… clusterfuck. Simultaneously expressive of the screwed up situation it describes, and funny as hell. I smile when I say it, even if I’m talking about something bad.
Will 2nd other commenters on a Dave Grohl interview! Dude is a beast on drums and vocals! He plays anything from coffee shops to arenas, would love to hear more about him, from him!
My favourite string of swear words that rolls off the tongue is “Jesus Mother Fucking Christ.” It’s long enough that I can inflect the right level of frustration. It’s also satisfying because of the strong reactions that it illicits.
Favourite curse word at the moment is ARSE BISCUIT. Got to love the English language. I enjoy reading your emails.
Dude, i kind of remenber her from a movie, looking carefully, i realize her jokes are not that funny, as most of jokes, i beleive her secret is the fearless approach combined with a great emotional potential she puts into her jokes that make them explode into laughs. She has mastered herself therefore she is mastering the world.
Not sure if it was upload quality but the intro recording sounded “glassy” not a great sound! Thanks for a great episode Tim!
Also any chance you could do a SCD podcast? Maybe a group interview with success stories? Obviously it is a GREAT book but there seems to be a huge lack of success stories/before after photos online. And we would love to know more about those who have had such tremendous results!
You should interview Thanissaro Bikkhu. He is an American Buddhist monk living in San Diego area. Very prolific writer! I think he combines a very down to earth take on meditation and a critical view of the mindfulness movement. He would be a good contrast/supplement to Sam Harris and Tony Robbins,
Favorite curse: the old Arab favorite “you son of a shoe!”.
Apparently, shoes are really looked down upon in the Middle East.
Best curse word has to be “muthafucka”: it’s so offensive and the same vowel sound 4 times in rapid succession is so musical, plus Richard Pryor and Miles Davis raised its use to art form.
Interview a magician i think they are all lesser known but when are you going to hack magic its easy to learn but hard to master this art
Awesome if you could interview Seth Godin
Honest request: Interview Naval Ravikant.
Brilliant entrepreneur. Almost anything that he says is pure golden.
What makes him so interesting is that he’s different, and better.
I’d love to hear the experiences that lead up to that point.
Interesting interview.
Seems like Margaret isn’t used to giving highly detailed answers.
I still liked it though. It tells a lot about the culture among stand-up comedians.
Anyone else think Tim has a Cato-like effect on people he interviews? I might be wrong. Just a feeling I got.
Favourite episodes so far, if you want a template for your next ones:
Waitzkin, Tony Robbins (because he’s just impossible not to like….).
And Dr Mager + Kelly Starrett. Tracy Denunzio.
Fantastic report. And I came away from all of them with so much I wanted to try myself.
Didn’t you have an interview with Schwarzenegger?
Jive Turkey. According to Urban Dictionary, it’s the most offensive word in the English language. 🙂
When I was younger my favourite curse word was CNUT (yep this is the proper spelling pronounced ka-nute). I used to like it because you could pretty much call anyone it to their face but they’d be oblivious to the fact that you’d really be calling them a cunt.
Over time though, I got into a bad habit of using it on everyone. If my granny did something wrong I’d call her a Cnut without thinking…this is like therapy telling you all this…”My name is Chris, and I used to call my granny a cunt” 🙁
I like ‘frak’. Been using it since the original Battlestar Galactica. Sounds vulgar but isn’t.
Guest I want to hear is Mark Rippetoe author of Starting Strength.
Fuck it is a majical word
http://youtu.be/xdjISUQN8t0
Hey Tim,
Thanks for the awesome podcasts! Would love to hear from Elon Musk in the future if you can get a hold of him.
Also, i’m sure you’ve tried both of these for your insomnia, but I find Melatonin super helpful if you have 6+ available for sleep, or pot if you have to get up soonish.
Tim,
I love your podcast. It’s my soundtrack for assembling megabuck watches here in Switzerland. It would be out of this world to hear you change ideas with Henry Rollins. I don’t know if you guys really are compatible but I can’t think of two more entertaining book freaks.cheers, Marco.
Tim Ferriss I am a giant fan of your books, blog, and podcasts. You have inspired me to take my self to the next level. I believe Peter Sage would be an awesome guest for your podcasts. He is an amazingly inspiring person like you and the combination of you two would be dynamite.
Tim, Please interview A.J. Jacobs for us. The internet needs this =)
Best swear word / phrase I use at work quite a bit when ‘motivating’ a panicking team:
“Just CTFD and CTFU !”
(Calm the F down and cheer the F up)
Hi everyone!
This blog have some lifekacking tips + some business strategies.
Maybe is a good idea to make list of thing that can improve your life for free?
For example:
Languages:
– anki
– duolingo
Courses:
– udemy
etc. etc.
What do you think about it?
Tim,
Allergic to Vicodin as well (nausea) but Tramadol AKA Ultram (synthetic opioid) works great without the nausea.
Although it can keep you up if taken close to bedtime unless you take with muscle relaxant like Robaxin which it is usually prescribed with for muscle sprains or strains.
Another side effect is not a buzz but a heightened focus and energy and an off label use for some as an instant relief from depression (at low doses) which I’ve experienced which scares me too from wanting to use it long term. I’d rather have it for when I need acute pain relief.
Anyways great thought provoking podcast
Great article! Keep ’em coming!
A great guy to interview is investor/economist/author Eric Janszen.
He has a web site http://www.itulip.com/
Twat – It has a nice sound like a slap in the face. Not quite as effective in a US accent though. And Arse Biscuits – just for soft comedy value.
Just about to embark on my own slow-carb adventure as I downloaded the book yesterday.
Check out James Ketchell – the first man to summit Everest, row the Atlantic and cycle around the world all after surviving a massive motorbike crash.
Check out this interview from “Second Opinion Series; The Digestion Sessions”. Dr. Datis Kharrazian is interviewed by Sean Croxton (Underground Wellness Radio). Discusses the Gut-Brain Axis. Free to watch today. Maybe you should interview Dr. Kharrazian.
ha, and the link… https://digestion sessions.com/dr-datis-kharrazian
Tim, I have to agree with John John. This was sub par compared with your usual standard. The 5min intro/sponsor spiel is getting a bit tedious and I appreciate that you are relatively new to interviewing but can you please try to keep your questions a bit more concise? The rambling questions are longer than the answers in some episodes!
I think when it comes to curse words, you gotta go with “douche-bag.”
Tim been a fan for a while. Got your books and now enjoying the podcast. Given your martial arts and performance background I’d like to suggest you interview Rodney King from South Africa. Rodney is a 3rd degree black belt under Rigan Machado, founder of the International Crazy Monkey Defense Program and a PhD candidate in leadership performance.
Love this episode! Keep it coming Tim!
Suggested guests: The writer Bill James, statistician Nate Silver and surgeon Atul Gawande.
Great interview Tim! Favorite curse word: f*ck 🙂
Fuck.
Where did all the written content go? I was just looking at websites for inspiration on how to develop mine and realized I actually don’t like yours. Love your books and older articles, but this podcast/video stuff doesn’t do it for me. Just my 2 cents. Have a good one.
Awesome, thanks for this Tim, l’m also a massive proponent of the slow carb diet
I was a little surprised by this podcast. I loved every episode so far, but this one seemed to fall flat.
I’ve seen Margaret Cho’s stand-up before, and some of her jokes were alright. But on this interview she seemed devoid of personality and boring. There was no energy. I know it’s got to be frustrating for comedians to do interviews when everyone is expecting them to say something funny or crack jokes. But this interview was just bland, and a lot of the response to Tim’s questions seemed to be obvious or lacking any thought.
The one “joke” she told was not even a joke. She stumbled and ho-hummed her way through a retelling of getting laid by a younger guy after a dry spell. I think even Tim had that awkward moment of “am I supposed to laugh now?”
Comedy is your craft. You make your living off of the laughs and pleasure that you bring to others. You would think it’d be good to represent that while doing an interview. You wouldn’t invite a guitarist to a music show and not expect him/her to show off a little on their instrument. At one point I started wondering if Tim was interviewing the wrong person.
Also I would have liked for more discussion about bisexuality and her experiences as an Asian-American, particularly because they seem to be a large influence in her stand-up routines.
Anyways, great stuff about slow-carb dieting. I think some people miss the point that having a cheat day is incredibly beneficial for long term results and maintaining a low body fat for more than just a couple of weeks. Although I subscribe to a slightly different diet (little to no carbs during the week), I use the cheat day in the same way. It was pretty much the only way I was able to keep under 10% body fat for two years straight.
The cheat day gives you something to look forward to and a way to stave off cravings. But it’s also a way to regulate eating by forming a routine. If you’re craving pizza on Tuesday you know you can have as much as you want come Saturday. Pretty soon it just becomes habit to avoid “bad” foods except on your cheat day. The psychological reward is also worth the wait. If you’ve ever spent a week eating like crap the last thing you want come the weekend is burgers and fries. And that feeling sucks.
As for the swear word, I’ll take Adam Carolla’s approach: Everyone should have a “Fuck You” canned for just the right occasion.
Thanks again for doing a podcast Tim, I’ve read all of your books and this has been a great way to get more of your insights on the go. I’m looking forward to the next show.
It was fun when you asked her why Italy and Spain were difficult markets in her opinion! I’m Spanish and it’s such a shame that we miss her cause of that. I could tell by your surprised tone that you have us for more open minded people (thanks for the support, Tim!)
I’m not one to comment whether she is right or wrong, she probably knows the markets better but I wish she gave us a chance. Keep it up! Thanks!
Hi Tim,
I, and many others, would love it if you did an inbetweenesode on the Slow-Carb Diet:
– Your current daily diet
– New Slow Carb hacks
– Any new Slow Carb developments
– Most effective supplementary exercises or fat loss strategies to run alongside the Slow Carb
I appreciate that a lot of this is covered in the 4 Hour Body, but it would be great to see what you might add, and to explore the diet in a podcast format.
I couldn’t get past casual mentioning of a pet psychic 🙂
Loved the episode, but I can’t help asking–
You touched on stimulants vs depressants and addiction. Cho mentioned scatterbrains tend to prefer stimulants for attention, while depressants are typically used by those more prone to moody behavior.
What do you do if you’re a moody scatterbrain drawn to both types of substances as an aversion to self, sobriety, and society?
Meditate? How on earth are you suppose to get on the cushion?
Thanks for your lifesaving help!
Keep up the awesome work.
Listening to her talk about comedy I thought how sad that you’ll never interview Robin Williams. The two of you would have made one hell of an episode.
I cuss like a goddamned sailor and have for decades. Fuck is a standard – I probably say it 25+ times a day (albeit often in my head or under my breath).
But my favorite HAS to be cunt. It makes me laugh because it’s the one men are most often to whip out when they’re über pissed and really just want the argument to end by forcing the “girl” to go batshit insane and lose her shit. Since I know that’s what they’re going for, I know that’s the end of THEIR arguments and that, basically, I’ve won. Honestly, though, I don’t remember the last time anyone called me one so I must be less of a cunt than I used to be!
Interview suggestions: Ray Kurzweil / Howard Bloom / Stephen Pressfield
My favorite by far is stolen from the great Hunter S Thompson … “Oh, you bastard!” “Oh, you bastards”
Works on multiple levels. Linguistically it’s extremely versatile.